Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has reportedly seized a duplex which alleged belong to the former Chief of Defence Staff, General Alex Badeh.
The details regarding the circumstances leading to such seizure were not immediately known, but the EFCC has placed a signboard on the property at Wuse II, Abuja, showing that it has taken possession of the storey building.
Badeh was appointed Chief of Defence Staff on 16 January 2014 by former President Goodluck Jonathan. [myad]
The APC National leader, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu has warned against those who are now crossing carpet from Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to All Progressives Congress (APC), saying that they may be disasters to the ruling party.
Tinubu who spoke to newsmen emphasized that he does not celebrate the defection of PDP politicians no matter the status.
”I’m not elated about the news of former senators, and even serving ones, defecting to the APC. Even if a governor from the opposition defects today, I will not celebrate it. I think the President should be leery and extremely cautious of these PDP defectors, and should not give them any serious responsibilities, because at the appropriate time, they will manifest great evil and disaster against the President and the APC.” Tinubu also warned that the influx of the PDP members “will crumble the APC, especially, if the President (Buhari) decides to do just a term.” he said that his concern over the wave of defection is that if President Buhari decided to do a single tenure in office, crisis might erupt between the defectors and the old members of APC. “The President Buhari I know, has very good intentions for Nigeria, and he would want to handover to someone he deems not to be corrupt. It is even possible that the President already has a successor in mind. And the danger is this; at the fullness of time, these PDP defectors, will form an unholy alliance with some politicians in APC and across the board, to thwart the President’s succession plan. And that will be the end of the APC, and a new rising for the PDP “ Tinubu congratulated Governor Seriake Dickson of Bayelsa state, on his reelection for another four years and commended Chief Timipre Sylva of the APC for putting up a gallant fight. The APC has recently received Senator Uche Ekwunife, Senator Jim Nwobodo, Former PDP Executives in Akwa Ibom and thousands at a mega rally in Jigawa state. [myad]
A $200 Million World Bank loan which the federal government under the former President Goodluck Jonathan denied Lagos State Government for the purpose of completing some of the infrastructural development projects it had been undertaking was, today, approved by the government of President Muhammadu Buhari. Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Babatunde Fasola who spoke to news men shortly after the meeting of the Federal Executive Council (FEC), presided over by President Buhari, said that the loan was approved in 2010 by the Federal Government with an initial moratorium of 10 years and a repayment period of 40 years. The loan which will be sourced from the World Bank, is the first major approval of such facility for any state government by the President Buhari-led administration. Fasola said that the loan is not entirely a new one as part of it had been collected during the past administration even as he said that the delay in approving the balance of the loan was due to partisan political differences as Lagos State was being controlled by a different political party other than that of the government at the centre. He regretted that due to the branding of Nigeria as the largest economy in Africa at the moment, the terms and conditions of the loan had changed with a reduction of moratorium period to only five years, repayment period to 25 years and an imposition of 2.5 percent interest rate. “The point to make is that this is not a new loan, it’s a segment if a programme of developmental initiatives and it was approved in 2010 with a total sum of $600 million for Lagos State to be disbursed in tranches of 200 million each year starting from 2011-2013. But it suffered delays as a result of partisan political differences in the last dispensation. After the first tranch was disbursed, there was a freeze on the second tranch. “The initial agreements we had with the World Bank was a 40-year loan, a 10-year moratorium, 0.5 percent interest. But because of the delays that subsequently characterised the partisan interference that took place, our profile as a nation also changed; we had become a bigger economy so money was being lent to us not now as a highly indebted nation anymore. So by the time this one was approved now because of the delays, we had lost the opportunity of 40 years as it is now a loan of 25 years, the moratorium has reduced to five years instead of 10 years. The interest rate had gone up to 2.5 percent “But what is still heart-warning about it is that it helps to finance infrastructure. When we look at road construction and the value chain that people benefit from it, labourers, those shops that sell iron rods, artisans, craftsmen, that means, really globally, economies are being reflated and infrastructure defines how big a nation can grow; it is the defining line between poor and rich nations.” Fasola in whose era as Lagos State governor the first tranch of the loan was received, however, expressed gratitude that the government of the day at the centre had given approval for the loan to complete the numerous roads and other projects that were started. He said that the resolve by the World Bank to provide the money was a testament that the foremost financial institution had confidence in the Federal Government and its current fiscal measures. “It’s is heartwarming that this administration has taken it on, and again fast track it so that the Lagos State government can continue its developmental programmes of infrastructure renewal; taking people out of poverty, reducing inequality because that’s the way to really distribute wealth in a society. “And that the World Bank has had the confidence now to lend sums in tantamount to sub-national government is a testament of financial discipline, strong governmental structures and the establishment of institutions, rather than the World Bank writing programmes for those states,” according to the minister. Fasola who was former Lagos Governor, said that the Finance Minister and Coordinating Minister in the past administration, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala had confided in him that the second tranch of the loan was frustrated because some PDP governors were complaining that only the then opposition states were benefiting. Meanwhile, a mild drama preceded the commencement of Wednesday’s FEC meeting. President Buhari shocked Vice President Yemi Osinbajo and other cabinet members by arriving at the Council Chambers of the State House at 9.51am for the FECl meeting scheduled for 10.00am. Osinbajo, Chief of Staff, Alhaji Abba Kyari, National Security Adviser Babagana Monguno and 19 ministers were yet to turn up when Buhari arrived for the meeting. After a quick glance at the few ministers who had taken their seats, Buhari remarked: “I came too early.” The president then asked for the recitation of the National Anthem and the meeting began immediately. Osinbajo and others however arrived about five minutes into the meeting and were said to be admitted through the tea room as the main door had been shut soon after the President’s arrival in consonance with protocol. [myad]
At a time when the issue of accountability has emerged as the most talked about subject in public discourse, the theft of the 219 girls from a government school in Chibok has, expectedly, kicked up questions about how far, so far, and whether this is going to be an endless wait for their return.
A government that says it would be respectful of the people’s mandate would be willing to give a snapshot of the continuing efforts to find the girls and free them.
When the government of Muhammadu Buhari gave strict directives for the Nigerian armed forces to root out Boko Haram and bring an end to the insurgency in our country’s northeast, the kidnapped girls from the Government Secondary School in Chibok were foremost in his mind. The issue remains one of great significance to Nigerians at home and abroad, and to the international community, and finding the missing girls is still a priority of President Buhari’s government.
Over the past months, the Nigerian military has recorded major victories against Boko Haram, reclaiming territory that had previously been occupied by the terrorists and dislodging them from their strongholds deep within the Sambisa forest. Throughout these operations, special care has been taken by the military to not harm any abducted persons in the terrorist’s captivity. Our armed forces are under instruction to withhold invasion rather than endanger the life of any Boko Haram captive. Various reports giving alleged information as to the whereabouts of the missing girls have also been received by the army, but these have all turned out to be false or misconstrued.
Unfortunately, things were left too late. The previous government wasted precious time questioning the veracity of the abduction rather than going in search of the girls when the trails left by their kidnappers must have still been fresh and easier to follow. In addition, after almost two years, there is a big questions out there among the experts if all the over 200 missing girls are gathered in one spot, in one location, sitting and waiting to be rescued.
When he spoke honestly and truthfully on the issue in his maiden Media Chat, the President drew criticism from some members of the Bring Back Our Girls, BBOG movement when he answered in the negative, a question on if he knew specifically where the girls were being held.
The President equally faced criticism for offering unconditional talks to Boko Haram leaders to secure the release of these girls, criticism that ignores sufficient record in history in the United States, Russia and even Israel. As illustrated by security consultant and author, Brian Jenkins in a 2014 article, if a safe rescue is the objective-which truly it is in this case-a negotiated outcome is always better than an armed rescue operation. In his words: “Armed action should never be ruled out completely, but negotiations are the more practical course to bring the girls safely home.”
That article strengthens the argument that, while the government must not abandon military efforts, it should carefully consider the complexity of such operation, especially given President Buhari’s emphasis that delay is preferable to errors, especially where the getting the girls unharmed is the ultimate goal. Don’t forget that after the 9-11 terrorist attack on the United States by Alqaeda, it took ten years of careful planning to bring Osama Bin-Laden to a final, Hollywood-style finish.
For President Buhari, there is no place for the overdone political posturing over the sad incident. He is not seeking applause because this problem is far more serious than most people think.
From everything the Defence Headquarters has been saying, our troops are ready, able and willing to storm anywhere at anytime to secure the girls once that needed intelligence is available.
The last battle-ground, the Sambisa forest is large and expansive. It covers about 3,000 square kilometers of Nigerian territory and it ideally harbors the remaining terrorists and their captives. But Sambisa presents a number of challenges not only to our own fighting forces but to the terrorists themselves. The place has been heavily mined. The terrorist operatives who planted the mines are believed to be mostly dead or have fled, so they too fall victim to them as they move in the forest because the remnants of their fighters don’t know where the mines are planted.
With recent military procurements by the present administration, mine-sweeping equipment have been deployed to pave the way for our soldiers. The Air Force is doing its duty of providing air cover and the Navy is active in Lake Chad waters. Our neighbors, Cameroon, Chad, Niger and Benin are collectively standing with Nigeria to deny terrorist a foothold on their soil.
In addition to these efforts, there are daily intelligence reconnaissance flights by our Air Force, the U.K, U.S and France which are partnering with the Lake Chad Basin Commission Countries. In the light of all these, a serious advance is being made towards liberating the forest and hopefully, government will be laying its hands on whatever is left of the terrorists and their hostages.
However, the issue goes beyond the Chibok girls. The incident which took place at the Government Girls School in Chibok, as horrific as it was, merely provided a glimpse into a darker horror that had gone largely ignored by both the Nigerian media and the previous administration: Girls being kidnapped every day from their homes and schools in northeast Nigeria.
The Chibok kidnap was merely an indication of a much larger problem, in which the Nigerian government has already recorded great progress. Although military invasions of the Sambisa forest have so far not yielded the missing Chibok girls specifically, they have led to the rescue of hundreds of women and children from various other parts of northeast Nigeria, who had been in Boko Haram captivity usually for several months. Between April 2015 and today, about 2000 women and children have been rescued by the Nigerian military from deep inside the Sambisa forest. Just last month, over 200 people, mostly women and children, were rescued from Boko Haram captivity. Without the BBOG outcry that followed the Chibok kidnapping, the world may have remained unaware of the distressing plight of those hundreds of missing women and girls.
These hundreds of women and girls may not be the focus of any major advocacy or media frenzy, but they are equally important. Their rescue and welfare are just as crucial as that of the famed Chibok girls. Their safety is as much of a priority to the Nigerian government.
The President shares empathy,solidarity and sympathy with the BBOG and other stakeholders. He may not be a man of many words. But as his actions suggest, he understands the loss by the parents, stakeholders and the nation very well. That’s why he keeps saying, ” you have to secure the nation to govern it well.” Security is the number one priority of this administration.
In the last few months, the government has run a very energetic and a very successful campaign that has diminished greatly, the terrorists, and has engaged the neighbors and the rest of the international community. These efforts have very much translated into a concerted and coordinated action. Yet for all these to succeed, stakeholders, especially those under the BBOG movement who, to their credit have served the nation selflessly to make Nigeria a more conscientious country need to rally their support behind the armed forces and the President. That is a critical ingredient for the girls to be found and returned and for the country to be safe from terror.
By the end of 2015, the Nigerian armed forces had succeeded in containing the insurgency in the northeast. All this is part of the ongoing effort to, not just rescue missing women and girls but ensure that they stay safe afterwards, that incidents such as the kidnapping in Chibok never reoccur. When kidnapped girls are rescued and returned to their families, the communities in which they live must be secure. They should be able to sleep without fear of being kidnapped again. They should be able to resume their education, to go to school in peace of mind. No more kidnappings should be allowed to take place.
If a repeat of this horrible incident is to be prevented, there must be corrective steps incumbent upon Nigeria.President Buhari remains committed to taking these corrective steps. He remains committed to finding the missing Chibok girls. He is also committed to annihilating Boko Haram and to bringing an end to terror in the northeast and in other parts of Nigeria. We must not lose hope.
Garba Shehu is Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity. [myad]
Cross River State Governor, Professor Ben Ayabe has regretted that for long, corruption had frustrated the progress of Nigeria and that it needs to be fought with all the strength at the nation’s disposal.
The Governor, who is ruling on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) insisted that President Muhammadu Buhari is on the right course to get rid of corruption in Nigeria.
Ayade, who spoke to news men shortly after meeting Buhari at the Presidential Villa, Abuja today said: “It is only obvious that any serious government must take the issue of corruption seriously and I think that is why today Nigeria is beginning to have national and international image that looks like Nigeria is getting prepared for business. “That is why investments are flowing into Cross River State. That is a sign that the anti-corruption war is actually working and it is giving Nigeria the international image that we need.” The governor described the anti-corruption war as perfect, saying: “those who know the pains, hardship and frustrations that Nigerians have passed through will agree with me on this.” The governor said that the issue of the Bakassi Deep Sea Port was part of the issue he discussed with the President, adding that construction work would start in full once the Environmental Impact Assessment is concluded. “The project is real and that is part of what I discussed with Mr. President and the President has given his commitment that he will support the deep sea port and the evacuation corridor, which is the 260km super highway. “The President did give an advice and warning that as far as he had come to give support to this programme, I must come to give him quarterly progress report on this project.” Ayade said he also discussed the state’s rice production project for which a special agriculture credit facility of N4.8 billion has already been requested. He said that the total investment outlay of the project is N10 billion, excluding a foreign element, which is a function of what the foreign partners are bringing. On Tinapa, Ayade said the state would on February 14, commission a monorail to mark Valentine’s Day, adding that rail is the first of its kind in West Africa. [myad]
One of the unfortunate falsehoods in the ongoing Taraba narratives is that Aisha Alhassan actually won the governorship election. The impression is created that she is a popular female politician with a cult folowership. The assumption is that she is the Hilary Clinton of Nigeria who is being persecuted by a male dominated society such as Taraba. For the unsuspecting, Aisha has played an insidious mind game showcasing her as the one with the highest cast votes in the last election.
Yet, nothing could be farther from the truth. APC is the master of propaganda, voodoo and illusions. If one is not careful, they would sell one a dummy and make one pay for one’s funeral. They know how to decorate lies and sustain mirages. Here then are the incontrovertible hard facts: Alhassan won only five local governments out of sixteen LGAs in the state. Those LGAs she won are basically the ones opposition parties always and naturally win during polls. They are the strong hold of the opposition and no one can dispute the fact that the APC clinched those five local governments.
Having conceded that, it is also a fact that the ruling PDP in Taraba with its very popular candidate, Arc. Darius Dickson Ishaku, garnered the majority votes having convincingly won in eleven local governments. Even when are run was ordered in one of the LGAs, the PDP still swept the polls. Gov Darius, an urbane professional architect, is seen by many as the voice of reason and experience. He has been a minister in three different ministries. When he was in the power ministry, Darius easily endeared himself to the electorate and thus didn’t find it difficult to get their support. His platform too i.e, the PDP is the preferred one in Taraba.
Today, sadly the APC is creating the scenario as if it actually polled more votes. But the stark reality is there for all to see. Even the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) knows this for a fact. APC is alien to our people and it has no natural roots. In declaring the PDP candidate, Arc. Darius Ishaku the winner, INEC therefore was merely voicing the opinion of the majority of our voters.
This thus brings us to the crux of the matter. If democracy is the game of number, the PDP has that number. If it is a game of majority, then the majority of Taraba electorate have spoken. And if the electoral system stipulates that anyone with a simple majority wins this contest, then Governor Darius Ishaku is in order in the eyes of the law and common sense.
That is why any attempt to smuggle the governor’s mandate through the back door would always be resisted by the teeming masses of Taraba. Five can never be greater than eleven. Any attempt to make it so is not only anti democratic, it is basically demonic.
To give Taraba governorship to the opposition APC would therefore amount to not only standing justice on its head but also giving a new meaning to profligacy. It would be a perfidy of the highest order and recourse to dictatorship.
What is more, it would be a miscarriage of true democracy and an insult on decency. It would showcase the current Buhari administration as one that enthrones wickedness and lawlessness. That is why we are praying that the right thing be done in Taraba state so that the law abiding citizens can continue to be guided by the rule of law.
There is no telling what may happen to Taraba should the APC try to force itself and take the state at the court as the tribunal wanted to do. It is a dangerously unadvisable mission. It won’t auger well for Tarabans and certainly for the entire country. This is because injury to one is an injury to all. Right now there is peace and calm basically because the court of appeal did the right thing to avert pandemonium. Electorates are now more informed than before. Stealing their mandate is thus no longer a safe enterprise. Therefore any decision about Taraba has to take these facts into considerations:
Taraba is historically and traditionally a PDP state 2. The PDP swept almost all the legislative posts both at the state and national level in the last election as a demonstration of this dominance in Taraba. 3. Gov Darius won with a very wide margin having garnered the highest number of votes from eleven local governments of the state. 4. The APC won just five local governments which are seemingly strong holds of opposition tendency in the state. 5. Five is not greater than eleven. It is a mathematical aberration and also a satanic equation.
The highest chamber of justice would never accept the devil’s calculus that five is now greater than eleven.
Guaranty Trust Bank has launched the #GTBankMobileWin100k competition to reward its mobile banking customers by availing them a chance to win N100,000 weekly in the mBank January rewards. The competition will run throughout the month of January 2016 and 10 lucky customers will win N100,000 weekly during the period. To participate in the competition, customers are required to perform two banking transactions weekly on the GTBank Mobile App. Such transactions include funds transfers, airtime purchases, bills payments and purchases on the SME MarketHub. Multiple entries are allowed and winners will be notified by telephone or email. The GTBank Mobile App is a versatile mobile application that merges the bank’s internet banking and mobile money service offerings to allow customers enjoy 24/7 flexibility in carrying out banking transactions without having to visit the Bank’s offices. Using the mobile app, customers can confirm transactions, transfer funds, pay bills and check balances from the comfort of their mobile devices. The app also host other amazing features such as the SME MarketHub, an online e-commerce platform that allows businesses owners create online stores to sell and promote their offerings to millions of buyers online. Commenting on the launch, Segun Agbaje, the Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of GTBank, said: “Understanding that customers are always on the go; mobile banking puts us in the palm of our customers and provides a unique opportunity to offer quick and more efficient ways of providing banking services. As a Bank, we remain firm on our objective to deliver value adding services that are tailored to meet the diverse needs of our ever-growing customer base by leveraging technology to make banking more convenient for all our customers.” [myad]
Federal High Court in Lagos has ordered the Nigerian government to stop freezing the MTN Nigeria Communications Limited in its 21 commercial banks in Nigeria.
The court ruled in favour of the MTN over its refusal to the N1.04 trillion fine imposed on it by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) for its failure to deactivate its unregistered subscribers.
The Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami (SAN), who filed the application yesterday, had expressed the fear that MTN could move all its funds out of the country before the N1.04 trillion fine could be enforced.
He had sought an order directing all the 21 banks to open a special interest-yielding account in the name of the Chief Registrar of the Federal High Court and move N1.04 trillion out of whatever funds that was standing to MTN’s credit in their possession.
The counsel for the AGF, Mr. Dipo Okpeseyi (SAN), in a 14-paragraph affidavit deposed to by his junior, Steve Nwabueze, had argued that MTN was in the habit of regularly repatriating its funds out of Nigeria.
He noted that between October 2007 and May 2009, a period of 19 months, MTN moved over $7.7bn of the money made in Nigeria to a foreign account.
He further drew the court’s attention to an instance when in one day, specifically on February 8, 2008, MTN transferred over $936m out of Nigeria to accounts in Mauritius, Cayman Island and British Virgin Island.
“Unless this honourable court urgently entertains this application, the plaintiff/respondent would move its funds out of Nigeria, being the jurisdiction of this honourable court, and thereby frustrate the enforcement of the fine in the likely event that this honourable court sanctions the imposition of the fine,” the AGF’s counsel added.
Okpeseyi maintained that MTN was under an obligation to pay the N1.04tn fine, because it was NCC’s administrative decision, which remained final unless it was reviewed by the commission or nullified by the court.
He said though NCC had earlier given MTN a concession on the fine and reduced it to N780bn, but since MTN had neglected or failed to pay on or before December 31, 2015, the fine remained N1.04tn.
He alleged that instead of taking advantage of the concession MTN resorted to filing a suit in order to buy time, with the hope that it could move all its funds out of Nigeria before the case would be decided.
Okpeseyi urged the court to grant the application in the interest of justice to prevent the court’s decision from being rendered nugatory if it went in the favour of NCC and AGF.
But Justice Idris Mohammed turned down the application as he said the AGF had not shown enough facts to prove that MTN was about to empty its bank accounts and move its funds out of the country. Idris, who noted that the case was sensitive and of public interest, said he would rather urgently hear the case filed by MTN to challenge the fine and give a judgment within a short time.
He, however, made an order for the parties to maintain status quo ante bellum pending the determination of the suit and adjourned till January 22, 2016 for hearing. MTN had assembled seven Senior Advocates of Nigeria, led by Chief Wole Olanipekun, to challenge the N1.04tn fine imposed on it by NCC.
The company contended that NCC could not act pursuant to Section 70 of its establishment Act to impose the fine on it.
But Malami, who took sides with the NCC and justified the imposed fine, said it was his duty, as the chief law enforcement officer in the country, to ensure that all the laws made by the National Assembly are obeyed. [myad]
It was very annoying seeing adults; educated adults speaking, writing and believing in what even a kindergarten child would simply dismiss with a wave of hand. Whose idea it was anyway that the Nigerian budget, presented to the joint session of the National Assembly last month was missing? Missing from where? For what purpose? As a matter of fact, I had started writing this piece when the Senate leader, Senator Muhammed Ndume came up with the true position of thing: that the budget cannot disappear. Of course, before Senator Ndume clarified the issue, it really made no professional sense for anybody to allow such trash as the budget is missing to be featured on his platform. It is as if they don’t know that copies of the budget are usually distributed to relevant committees immediately after it is presented by the President or his representative. That even the two chambers of the National Assembly are necessarily handed the copies of the budget right after the presentation. Which of the copies some media practitioners were deceived to publish as missing? More importantly too is the realization that not quite a week after it was presented to the National Assembly, the copy was available not only in the google search engine, but also in other social media platforms. What then made the purported missing of the 2016 budget such a big issue on which media fell over one another to publish? When I first read it earlier in the day, I comforted myself to believe that it was not real: that the media operators were actually not doing what they were doing. But it gained ground so much that even newspaper editors had to ask their reporters to find out from the Presidency if actually it withdrew the document. Have the operators of the publishing outfits gone so low that they cannot even do a very simple calculation or judgment? How would the nation budget have disappeared and there were no other way of getting the same document? They should have contacted me for a copy, which I have in my file, on my laptop. Habba! [myad]
A beautiful Fulani girl presents a calabash containing Fura-De-Nono, special Fulani delicacy to the Vice President, Professor Yemi Osinbajo today, when he arrived in Kaduna Airport for the Ground-Breaking Ceremony of 2000 Affordable Housing Scheme initiated and executed by Kaduna State Governor, Mallam Nasiru El Rufai. The governor was there to cheer up the giver and the receiver. [myad]
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Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has reportedly seized a duplex which alleged belong to the former Chief of Defence Staff, General Alex Badeh.
A Ray Of Light On Chibok Girls, By Garba Shehu,
A government that says it would be respectful of the people’s mandate would be willing to give a snapshot of the continuing efforts to find the girls and free them.
When the government of Muhammadu Buhari gave strict directives for the Nigerian armed forces to root out Boko Haram and bring an end to the insurgency in our country’s northeast, the kidnapped girls from the Government Secondary School in Chibok were foremost in his mind. The issue remains one of great significance to Nigerians at home and abroad, and to the international community, and finding the missing girls is still a priority of President Buhari’s government.
Over the past months, the Nigerian military has recorded major victories against Boko Haram, reclaiming territory that had previously been occupied by the terrorists and dislodging them from their strongholds deep within the Sambisa forest. Throughout these operations, special care has been taken by the military to not harm any abducted persons in the terrorist’s captivity. Our armed forces are under instruction to withhold invasion rather than endanger the life of any Boko Haram captive. Various reports giving alleged information as to the whereabouts of the missing girls have also been received by the army, but these have all turned out to be false or misconstrued.
Unfortunately, things were left too late. The previous government wasted precious time questioning the veracity of the abduction rather than going in search of the girls when the trails left by their kidnappers must have still been fresh and easier to follow. In addition, after almost two years, there is a big questions out there among the experts if all the over 200 missing girls are gathered in one spot, in one location, sitting and waiting to be rescued.
When he spoke honestly and truthfully on the issue in his maiden Media Chat, the President drew criticism from some members of the Bring Back Our Girls, BBOG movement when he answered in the negative, a question on if he knew specifically where the girls were being held.
The President equally faced criticism for offering unconditional talks to Boko Haram leaders to secure the release of these girls, criticism that ignores sufficient record in history in the United States, Russia and even Israel. As illustrated by security consultant and author, Brian Jenkins in a 2014 article, if a safe rescue is the objective-which truly it is in this case-a negotiated outcome is always better than an armed rescue operation. In his words: “Armed action should never be ruled out completely, but negotiations are the more practical course to bring the girls safely home.”
That article strengthens the argument that, while the government must not abandon military efforts, it should carefully consider the complexity of such operation, especially given President Buhari’s emphasis that delay is preferable to errors, especially where the getting the girls unharmed is the ultimate goal. Don’t forget that after the 9-11 terrorist attack on the United States by Alqaeda, it took ten years of careful planning to bring Osama Bin-Laden to a final, Hollywood-style finish.
For President Buhari, there is no place for the overdone political posturing over the sad incident. He is not seeking applause because this problem is far more serious than most people think.
From everything the Defence Headquarters has been saying, our troops are ready, able and willing to storm anywhere at anytime to secure the girls once that needed intelligence is available.
The last battle-ground, the Sambisa forest is large and expansive. It covers about 3,000 square kilometers of Nigerian territory and it ideally harbors the remaining terrorists and their captives. But Sambisa presents a number of challenges not only to our own fighting forces but to the terrorists themselves. The place has been heavily mined. The terrorist operatives who planted the mines are believed to be mostly dead or have fled, so they too fall victim to them as they move in the forest because the remnants of their fighters don’t know where the mines are planted.
With recent military procurements by the present administration, mine-sweeping equipment have been deployed to pave the way for our soldiers. The Air Force is doing its duty of providing air cover and the Navy is active in Lake Chad waters. Our neighbors, Cameroon, Chad, Niger and Benin are collectively standing with Nigeria to deny terrorist a foothold on their soil.
In addition to these efforts, there are daily intelligence reconnaissance flights by our Air Force, the U.K, U.S and France which are partnering with the Lake Chad Basin Commission Countries. In the light of all these, a serious advance is being made towards liberating the forest and hopefully, government will be laying its hands on whatever is left of the terrorists and their hostages.
However, the issue goes beyond the Chibok girls. The incident which took place at the Government Girls School in Chibok, as horrific as it was, merely provided a glimpse into a darker horror that had gone largely ignored by both the Nigerian media and the previous administration: Girls being kidnapped every day from their homes and schools in northeast Nigeria.
The Chibok kidnap was merely an indication of a much larger problem, in which the Nigerian government has already recorded great progress. Although military invasions of the Sambisa forest have so far not yielded the missing Chibok girls specifically, they have led to the rescue of hundreds of women and children from various other parts of northeast Nigeria, who had been in Boko Haram captivity usually for several months. Between April 2015 and today, about 2000 women and children have been rescued by the Nigerian military from deep inside the Sambisa forest. Just last month, over 200 people, mostly women and children, were rescued from Boko Haram captivity. Without the BBOG outcry that followed the Chibok kidnapping, the world may have remained unaware of the distressing plight of those hundreds of missing women and girls.
These hundreds of women and girls may not be the focus of any major advocacy or media frenzy, but they are equally important. Their rescue and welfare are just as crucial as that of the famed Chibok girls. Their safety is as much of a priority to the Nigerian government.
The President shares empathy,solidarity and sympathy with the BBOG and other stakeholders. He may not be a man of many words. But as his actions suggest, he understands the loss by the parents, stakeholders and the nation very well. That’s why he keeps saying, ” you have to secure the nation to govern it well.” Security is the number one priority of this administration.
In the last few months, the government has run a very energetic and a very successful campaign that has diminished greatly, the terrorists, and has engaged the neighbors and the rest of the international community. These efforts have very much translated into a concerted and coordinated action. Yet for all these to succeed, stakeholders, especially those under the BBOG movement who, to their credit have served the nation selflessly to make Nigeria a more conscientious country need to rally their support behind the armed forces and the President. That is a critical ingredient for the girls to be found and returned and for the country to be safe from terror.
By the end of 2015, the Nigerian armed forces had succeeded in containing the insurgency in the northeast. All this is part of the ongoing effort to, not just rescue missing women and girls but ensure that they stay safe afterwards, that incidents such as the kidnapping in Chibok never reoccur. When kidnapped girls are rescued and returned to their families, the communities in which they live must be secure. They should be able to sleep without fear of being kidnapped again. They should be able to resume their education, to go to school in peace of mind. No more kidnappings should be allowed to take place.
If a repeat of this horrible incident is to be prevented, there must be corrective steps incumbent upon Nigeria.President Buhari remains committed to taking these corrective steps. He remains committed to finding the missing Chibok girls. He is also committed to annihilating Boko Haram and to bringing an end to terror in the northeast and in other parts of Nigeria. We must not lose hope.
Garba Shehu is Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity. [myad]